


falling like lightning

by volunteer_of_hufflepuff



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canonical Character Death, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Sibling Reunion
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-11
Updated: 2021-01-11
Packaged: 2021-03-06 18:14:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,417
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26403283
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/volunteer_of_hufflepuff/pseuds/volunteer_of_hufflepuff
Summary: Jason Grace decides to go for a run at the base of Mount Othrys, one particular night when two particular demigods, accompanied by Zoe Nightshade, are rushing to save Artemis.It changes his life irreversibly.Or: Jason joins in for the tail-end of theTitan's Curse, meets the sister he never knew he had and helps seal the Greek-Roman schism much earlier on.
Relationships: Jason Grace & Reyna Avila Ramírez-Arellano, Jason Grace & Thalia Grace
Comments: 47
Kudos: 78





	1. explosion

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoy my _hey, they were in San Fransisco during Titan's Curse, what if two siblings ran into each other much earlier -_ canon-divergence fic!

Jason is jogging at the base of Mount Othrys.

His centurion had clapped him on the shoulder, said he could get away from camp for a few hours to escape the omnipresent pressure.

_Son of Jupiter, power leeching off him, didn’t you know he can fly -_

It is exhausting.

 _You’re thirteen_ , Gwen had said, teasingly pushing his hair out of his eyes, _go be a kid._

If Jason’s idea of fun was jogging at the base of Mount Othrys… well. He’d done much weirder things.

Speaking of weird things -

Jason stops. He can make out, just vaguely, three figures walking towards him, coming from… a smoking wreck of a car.

Jason blinks. His curiosity battles with his desire to run, run, run, yet -

The smell of ozone, acrid and thick, lingers in the air.

Jason stays where he is.

As the figures draw nearer, he can figure out there are two girls, one boy - one girl wearing a silver circlet - the Lieutenant of Diana?

Why were they in San Francisco?

Jason barely remembers the last time the Hunters visited Camp Jupiter: he was seven, or so.

Jason pushes back his sweaty hair, and starts to walk tentatively towards them.

He resists the urge to break into a sprint. If this really is Diana’s Lieutenant - well, suffice to say, son of Jupiter or no, it would be best to present his best side.

His grey sweatshirt and loose-fitting basketball shorts probably aren’t helping in that regard.

They’re close enough now that they notice him.

The Lieutenant narrows her eyes. “Who are thou?”

Jason raises his right hand reflexively in a ‘peace’ gesture. “Just your friendly local demigod taking a jog in his neighbourhood.” He pauses, taps his foot on the ground nervously. “Zoe Nightshade, right?”

Zoe nods, her face smoothing. “Ah, yes. I remember thou. Now, if thou don’t mind, we are on a time-sensitive mission here-”

“I can help,” Jason quickly interjects. He’s hooked. “I brought my sword,” he says, pulling out his coin, “and my centurion won’t mind.”

Remembering Zoe’s companions, Jason turns to face two slightly smoking demigods.

The girl - choppy black hair, piercing blue eyes - is staring at him almost in shock, still paling as they speak. The boy, sea-green eyes ablaze with determination - well, he’s just fiddling with a bronze pen.

“Hi,” he says, as his voice returns to a more muted calm after encountering one of the most respected mythological figures out in the wild. “Sorry, I didn’t introduce myself before.” He puts his hand out, before realising it is probably awfully sweaty and pulling it back to wipe against his basketball shorts. “Fellow demigod, Jason Grace.”

The girl looks like she’s about to faint.

The boy, on the other hand, has no such qualms. “Percy Jackson.” He looks at Zoe, shrugs. “Can’t hurt to have another demigod, if you know him and all.” 

Zoe pauses, looks at the other girl, back at Jason. Bites her lip. “Alright,” she says. She starts walking again. “Try and keep up.”

.

The walk up is mostly silent.

The other girl - Jason still hasn’t learnt her name - has not uttered a word.

Percy is a bit more talkative.

“We’re on a quest,” he says, still fiddling with his pen. “Rescuing Artemis, along with my best friend Annabeth, from impending doom.” He gives Jason a lopsided smile. “You know the drill.”

 _Artemis._ Jason frowns. It feels strange, but not wrong.

Outwardly, he sighs, rubbing at his SPQR tattoo. “You’re not wrong. I’ve been on three quests, and they are awfully clockwork with war games. It’s even worse because I’m -”

He cuts himself off. He’s with new demigods - even if they do use Greek names - who have so far been friendly (or, in the perpetually nameless girl’s case, at least not openly hostile) - who he does not want to start treating him differently because of who his father is.

Jason had been claimed when he was eight.

In many ways, he wishes he never was.

“Anyway,” Jason says, shaking his head. “What do you want me to do?”

Percy shrugs. “Kill monsters, help us stay alive, get Artemis and Annabeth out of Kronos’ thumb.”

Jason shivers. Again, with the Greek names.

He finger guns Percy, though it is weak. “Can do.”

.

After they leave - well, flee - the golden apple tree behind, Jason finally learns the spiky hair girl’s name.

_Thalia._

It sounds oddly familiar.

“We’ve been keeping an eye on it,” Jason cuts in, whilst his fellow questers cheerfully discuss their impending doom and gloom. “I hadn’t realised that Atlas had broken free.”

He frowns, taps his fingers together. “It’s weird that I didn’t know.”

He stops talking when they break through a heavy mist to see the goddess Diana holding the weight of the world, clearly in pain.

Jason spins his coin, the gold glinting in the waning dusk light.

.

The battle is -

 _Slice parry cut_ , until Thalia scares all the dracaena away with her shield.

Artemis rolling free of the sky, Percy holding on -

His hair now streaked with grey -

Atlas strikes Zoe down -

The guy with a wicked smile is kicked down by Thalia -

Monsters come rushing forward, everyone else looks too distraught - _slice parry cut_ -

Jason thinks he may have bitten off more than he can chew, accidentally wandering into a whole other side of the mythological world.

 _Greek_ names, shouted through the air -

Bullets slicing through the air, being bundled up into apparently Artemis’ carriage up into the sky -

The battle ceases, with the broken cries of a dying woman.

.

Zoe’s body dissolves into silver mist, a new constellation glinting in the sky.

Diana - Artemis? - finally notices Jason, and she frowns.

Jason -

Jason is really confused. Tonight was much more than he expected, and Gwen definitely would not be happy with him for staying out so late, but he helped and stepped in when he saw danger.

Wasn’t that what demigods - heroes - were supposed to do?

She raises her hand, drops it. Sighs.

And, in a very human manner, after glancing at a still shell-shocked Thalia, she says, “Well, shit.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I make no promises regarding an update schedule, as life continues to pick up the pace, but there will be a chapter two, eventually. My apologies for the cliffhanger.
> 
> all comments, kudos, bookmarks and whatnot are seen and appreciated xx


	2. clearsighted

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Diana reveals secrets. And Jason wonders what is up with Thalia.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hope you enjoy this suspenseful chapter!

There is a rumble of thunder, a roaring wind. Jason shivers.

“Our father,” Diana starts, delicately, “is not very good with family. And gods.” She stares at her hands. “We are bound to keep secrets.”

None of this is new information to Jason, but he nods anyway. 

“You know me as Diana,” she says, slowly, her form briefly flickering, “they know me as Artemis. Our father Zeus, to you Jupiter.” She sighs again. “None of you are necessarily wrong.”

“The Greek-Roman schism - Greek and Roman demigods - are two worlds we desperately try to keep separate. But,” Diana says, looking at Thalia, then back at Jason, “I am not cruel like my father, nor heartless like my stepmother, and I feel like we may regret it if we try and wipe your memories of ever meeting and send you on your merry ways.”

Annabeth blinks, shaken out of her weary daze. “Wait,  _ what? _ ”

“Think of it as - alternative personalities,” Diana suggests. “If one exists, why not the other?”

“Okay,” Percy says, closing his eyes, his eyebrows pinched. “Cool, cool. Roman pantheon.” A pause. “Okay. Why not?”

Thalia is the only one who does not look shell-shocked: instead, she almost looks pensive.

“Greeks  _ and  _ Romans,” she says, quietly. “That’s interesting.”

“Interesting is one way of putting it,” Jason says, though he cannot honestly say he is surprised: he has lived in this world for too long. It does not surprise him that the lares' hissed whispers of _graecus_ have roots in reality.

Diana sighs: her face may be young, but her eyes are ancient. “Interesting is one way to put it. Headache inducing is another. You have many questions,” she says, as Annabeth’s eyes burn bright with curiosity, “but we do not have the time.”

“I’ll explain to your centurion,” Diana tells Jason, “that you very nobly helped me when you saw my lieutenant.” Her eyes cloud over with grief. “And you three,” she says, to the apparently Greek demigods, “now must keep a very big secret, lest Hera-.”

She stops abruptly. “I’ve said enough. That is not my story to tell.”

Thalia glances at Annabeth. Her eyes are broken.

Jason cannot help but wonder why.

"I must be getting back to Mount Olympus. The solstice is almost upon us." Diana stares up at the stars, her hand lifted, fingers tracing the constellation newly forged. "Thalia, would you mind escorting Jason back to his camp? It has gotten quite late."

"Oh," Thalia says, quietly, almost subdued.

Jason hadn't known Thalia for long, but this meekness - it didn't strike him as characteristic of her.

"Of course," she says, twisting her fingers together in her lap.

She leans in to whisper something into Annabeth’s ear: probably commiseration, that it would not take long and then they could all go party all night long on Mount Olympus, on condition of dropping off an awkward teenager they just met.

Looks like even Diana is not above making demigods run chores that would take her the flick of a finger.

“I can walk myself back to Camp,” Jason insists, in a half-affronted manner, which is really fuelled both by  _ please stop treating me like a child _ and also,  _ please don’t make these new Greek demigods suddenly resent me for taking away their friend on babysitting duty _ .

The first feeling was relatively common. The other, not so much. Jason could count the number of interactions he’s had with gods on one hand, if he excluded Terminus.

Diana’s eyes glitter, and Jason is reminded that she is the Goddess of the Hunt. “I insist.” She snaps her fingers. “I’ve sent the message to your centurion. We must not dawdle.”

This time, Jason does not protest. He knows many things, and one of these things is: do not push your luck, do not piss off all mighty powerful beings, do not keep going when all is futile and make yourself needlessly look a fool.

“I’ll send an escort for Thalia to come to Olympus once you’ve reached Camp Jupiter safely, little brother,” she says, flicking the reins, sparkling silver in the cold shimmering moonlight. “But one should not wander alone.”

Jason looks at Thalia.

Tears are glittering in her eyes.

It has been a long night for them all.

.

They fly until they reach the base of Mount Othrys.

Only a few hours have passed. And yet so much has changed.

Jason, in typical I-cannot-trust-my-legs fashion, lifts himself out of the chariot and onto the path with the help of the winds.

Thalia is departing the chariot at a slightly more sedate pace, turning once again to hug Annabeth fiercely.

Then, she turns to face Diana. She bows: from Annabeth and Percy’s shocked expressions, Thalia is not known for her deference to the gods. 

“Thank you, Lady Artemis,” Thalia says, quietly. “I will not forget this kindness.”

Jason blinks. He must be missing something: so far, Thalia has helped save Diana, not the other way around, and Diana has, in return, delegated to her babysitting duty for a 13-year-old boy she just met instead of attending a party on Olympus.

Annabeth and Percy do not look any less confused.

Diana seems to understand, however. “Of course I gave you this opportunity, Thalia. My only regret is that I could not do so earlier.”

Maybe Thalia had been offered a place in her hunt?

That is the only logical explanation Jason can think of, or maybe she just really wants to see what the outside of Camp Jupiter looks like?

Which is: quite boring, bland in reality. Orange light shimmering off wet asphalt can be kind of pretty, alluring, in its own way, but standing guard on a highway was not Jason’s idea of a fun time.

Thalia turns to Percy. “Don’t get killed without me, Kelp Head.”

Percy cracks what must be classified as an awkward smile. “Wasn’t planning on it. Thanks for the help, Jason!”

Jason, in reciprocal awkwardness, finger guns. “Thanks for having me! It was quite an adventure.”

It was nice to not have to play the part of Jupiter’s son for one night and add another world-saving quest to his list, which is much longer than any thirteen-year-olds should be.

But Jason has never been normal since he turned up at Camp Jupiter, as a toddler still learning to talk.

Thalia steps out of the chariot.

“Follow me,” Jason says, before the awkwardness sets in.

Thalia nods, silent.

“Thank you for your assistance tonight, Jason Grace,” Diana says, as she flicks her reins. “It will not be forgotten.”

With that - and Annabeth’s shocked face, her eyes widening, though Jason does not what is so thought-provoking about his last name - the chariot flies away, until it is but another silvery speck in the night sky.

The battle is over, but why does Jason feel as if the crescendo is only just approaching?

.

What Jason doesn't know:

_ Eleven years ago. _

_ A child, barely two years old, is left out in the wild. _

_ "How could you?" Thalia screams, at a thin, wane woman - her mother, Beryl Grace. _

_ Beryl shows no remorse, gives no answers. _

_ Two days later, Thalia's gone. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ah, cliffhangers. my favourite.
> 
> all comments/kudos/bookmarks etc are all seen and appreciated, thanks for reading!


	3. release

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Revelations, and reunions.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoy the reveal! or: they really had terrible parents, hence the increased rating.
> 
> enjoy some sibling bonding!

The stars sparkle, glitter, the sky gaping overhead with fading specks of silvery light.

Thalia is fiddling with the zipper of her jacket, pulling it up and down, up and down.

The light along the path home - well, not _ home _ exactly, but his residence if nothing else - is dim, but that doesn’t bother Jason. He has walked this route enough that it is engraved into the soles of his shoes.

“What is Camp Jupiter like?” Thalia asks, abruptly, awkwardly, as they stop at a traffic light, the amber glow reflecting off her eyes. 

Her eyes still glitter with unshed tears, the blue electrifying - it’s almost like looking into a mirror.

“Is it - fun?” She stops herself, a look of such palpable concern gracing her face that Jason would feel afraid, if not for the way Diana so clearly trusted her.

“It’s camp,” Jason says, with a shrug that is all too casual. He rubs at the nine lines, dark and thick, branded into his skin, the eternal echo of a searing burn. “I’ve been there since I was two. It’s all I’ve ever known.”

“Two,” Thalia repeats, with such a poignant sadness that Jason wonders who broke her heart. “Annabeth came to Camp Half-Blood when she was seven.” She shakes her head, closes her eyes, though the lights are about to turn green. “What did they do with a two-year-old?”

“Fostered with some adult demigods for the first few years in New Rome,” Jason shrugs, kicking a pebble as they cross the road, “joined the legion when I was four or so.”

Thalia looks horrified: it’s not an uncommon reaction, but it’s not like demigods are known for their easy lives.

“I can’t believe.” She cuts herself off, lightning sparking at her fingertips. “That is so messed up.”

Jason shrugs, too weary to offer any explanations for his admittedly shitty childhood. “It is what it is. What about you?”

Thalia sighs, her body tensing. Glances towards the sky, not as if to ask for guidance, but to curse the gods. “I ran away when I was eight. Got turned into a tree at twelve. Stayed that way for six years, but I’m only turning sixteen tomorrow.”

She takes a deep, steadying breath. “I don’t know how to break this to you, Jason, but -”

Her voice cracks on  _ Jason _ .

“I’m your sister.”

“Oh,” Jason says, though he is not terribly surprised, what with the lightning sparks and all. “Well, that’s nice. I’ve never met another Jupiter.” He winces, corrects himself. “Zeus kid before.”

“No,” she says, as tears finally start to fall, “well, yes, Zeus is my father, but that’s not what I meant.” She bites her lip. “Technically speaking, my name is Thalia Grace. We have the same mother, and up until a few hours ago, I thought you were dead.”

.

It takes a bit of time for Jason to process it all, as they walk together in uncomfortable silence.

Left at the Wolf House when he was a toddler to the mercy of the wolves, Jason had thought his mortal family hadn't given a shit about him.

Looking at Thalia - his sister - crying, crying,  _ crying _ \- he revises this impression a little.

“We went out for a picnic,” Thalia says, sniffing, “which was strange enough on its own because our mother.” She hesitates, looks at Jason, before looking away. “She’s dead. Her name was Beryl, and she was a horrible person.”

“And she left me out for Lupa to find,” Jason fills in slowly, his brow furrowing. “Because we’re Roman and Greek, and we are not supposed to mix, apparently.”

“Yeah,” Thalia says, with red-rimmed eyes. “That sounds right. The gods have always enjoyed fucking up my life.”

Jason laughs, though it is bitter. They are nearing the perimeter of Camp Jupiter now.

“You don’t say.” His tone softens. “None of this is your fault, though. You were eight.”

“I know,” Thalia says, staring up at the sky. It is almost time for her departure. “I know.”

She shudders. “I can’t believe you’re alive.”

“I never knew I had a sister,” Jason says, his voice soft, “but I’m glad I met you.”

Thalia spins around and pins him in a hug, stopping at the edge of the Caldecott Tunnel.

“Stay safe,” she mutters, clutching at his sweatshirt. “I just found you. I can’t bear to lose you again.”

Jason can’t remember Thalia, but he wishes he did: regardless, it’s such a nice feeling, if in a slightly strange way, to know that he has family who cares.

“I’ll try,” he whispers, voice brittle. “Be careful, too.”

Thalia smiles, but it is paper-thin. She jumps onto the back of an ebony pegasus: Jason had been so entranced in this revelation, that he has a  _ sister _ , that he had not noticed it fly down.

“Stay safe,” she whispers, with tears in her eyes. “I’ll stay in touch.”

And then she is gone, black wings spread against a star-speckled sky.

.

“Was it fun?” Gwen asks, drily, as he stumbles into his barrack at 11 pm.

Jason shrugs, trying to fake nonchalance.  _ Freed a goddess, learnt about the Greeks, found out I had a sister.  _ “It was interesting.”

Gwen’s eyes narrow, soften. “That’s one way of putting it. Diana told me.” She swallows. “She wrote of how her lieutenant died. Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” Jason replies, slightly petulantly, hoping that the light is too dim for her to notice the faint tear tracks on his face

It is one thing to suspect your mother abandoned you - it is another thing altogether to know she traded you like a bargaining chip and let your sister think you were dead for over a decade.

“You are so young,” she mutters, and Jason remembers that Gwen is only sixteen herself.

The smile gracing his face is bitter. “Aren’t we all?”

And then he yawns.

“Go to sleep, philosophical young grasshopper,” she says, shoving a bundle of pyjamas at Jason despite his weak protests. “I’ll let you sleep in, but other than that, life as normal tomorrow.”

Jason nods. He feels like a pricked balloon: deflated, exhausted, after the adrenaline rush of the last few hours.

It is as if he was looking at the world in monochrome his whole life, and it has now exploded into the colours of the rainbow.

.

_ I have a sister _ , is what he thinks as he falls asleep underneath dark pine rungs in an impersonal bed, as he has for so many years.

He is no longer alone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> all kudoses, comments, bookmarks, etc., are all seen and appreciated, truly xx
> 
> stay safe!


	4. settling

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A week later, a night at the mess hall, and surprise visits.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello! here is the next instalment of this merry fic, I hope you enjoy!

For all the reality shattering revelation that night was, life continues on.

It is at a drib and drab pace. Wake up, run, don’t forget that chore - no,  _ that _ chore, Jason, they always leave the worst for the fifth -, eat, avoid Octavian like he’s the devil (spoiler alert: he is), be spearheaded as the fifth’s star player in war games despite his young age.

Jason sighs as he flops down next to Reyna in the mess hall, a week after his nightly escapade into the world of the Greeks and long-lost siblings.

Friday evening, and maybe tonight he’ll finally get a break.

People don’t let you sit on your laurels when you are a son of Jupiter - that is exclusively for descendants of the gods whose powers are so weak but family connections so strong, whose ‘power’ reeks of the nepotism twisting throughout Camp Jupiter, poisoning it.

Demigods may have the real strength, the real power, but they are superseded by upstarts like Octavian whose great-great-great-great-grandfather happened to be Apollo.

(For all Jason knows, the same could be said of him.)

Ah, nepotism.

The only form of  _ that  _ Jason ever gets is unwanted attention and acclamations, too much responsibility for a boy who should be goofing off in school classrooms and becoming a gaming pro. Or, at least, that’s what Gwen has told him, who had a semi-normal life until she was eleven and thrown to the mercy of the wolves.

Dinner at Camp Jupiter is never not great, but tonight Jason feels rather lacklustre about the sparkling apple juice and Margherita pizza in front of him.

Perhaps it’s knowing that he’s not alone in this world, after all - but that knowledge, the wonderful gift of an older sister who seemed to genuinely care about him, him Jason the boy and not Jason the Son of Jupiter, came with a sucker punch. The confirmation that his mother had - well. Thrown him away like last week’s pizza.

“Tired?” Reyna asks, next to him, who has already eaten half of her pasta dish of some sorts.

Jace smiles, though it doesn’t quite meet his eyes. “Knackered.”

It is at that moment, the moment that Jace finally decides to speak, that the room falls to a hush.

For there is a goddess in their midst, standing in front of the praetors.

And it is one Jason recognises, but it is not that which sends a jolt of lightning through his heart: that is the demigod standing next to her.

_ Thalia. _

.

Jason does not gasp aloud, but the silence washing over them all speaks for the legion’s shock.

Gods -

Gods do not visit Romans: they only hand out perilous missions through vague messages, though Diana is one of the best: but, still, she has not been in Camp Jupiter for almost a century.

Reyna’s gaze narrows to a point: specifically, she turns around, her dark braid perfect, and  _ looks _ at him, piercing through his soul.

Her look asks:  _ Jason, did you do something I need to know about? _

Jason’s panicked gaze hopefully does not read:  _ Yeah so that’s my long lost sister who is actually Greek, which is a whole ‘nother pantheon! Crazy, isn’t it? _

Before the panic can continue to swell to dangerous heights, Diana speaks.

“Good evening, Romans,” she says, Thalia shifting beside her. Her grey eyes are still unnerving. “I am sorry for interrupting your nightly meal, but I have an important announcement to make.”

She sighs, her eyes glittering with a bone-deep sorrow. “My lieutenant, Zoe Nightshade, who many of you met, has recently died.”

Grief sweeps through the hall, and Jason carefully lowers his gaze so Reyna’s doesn’t continue to pierce deeper.

He tries not to think of the wistful wishes of a dying woman.

Moments pass, deepen. A warrior has fallen, and the legion, though only knowing her in passing, takes a few minutes to grieve the felled huntress.

“With that,” Diana continues, a barely perceivable tremble in her voice, “I would like to introduce Thalia, my new lieutenant.”

Jason notes how she has carefully (wisely) omitted Thalia’s last name.

Romans are not stupid, far from it.

“She will be dining here tonight so that you can become acquainted. Please, make her feel at home.”

The praetors, who are sitting behind their two guests, nod. James Vincent, the eighteen-year-old with dark hair and a thin nose, is the one to speak. “Thank you for your visit, Diana. And you, Thalia.”

Thalia - who now has a silver circlet buried in her dark hair - nods. “Thank you for your hospitality.”

When Diana told him she was bending the rules by allowing them to know of both pantheons, Jason thought that was dangerous enough.

Bringing a Greek into the heart of the Roman camp?

Diana is playing with fire.

And when she disappears in a cloud of silver mist, her eyes briefly meet Jason’s.

A smile, a nod.

She knows what she’s doing.

Diana gone, Thalia surveying the room with thinly veiled anxiety before being ushered to sit next to the praetors, Reyna finally speaks.

“Care to explain?” Reyna asks, drily, an eyebrow raised. “What happened, last week?”

It is not a secret, but it is not exactly common knowledge, either.

Jason blows needlessly on his pizza, even though it is always exactly the right temperature.

“Well.” He starts, before stopping himself. “I helped to rescue Diana from a trap with some other demigods. Zoe was killed in the battle. Thalia was one of the demigods there, although I didn’t know she joined the Hunters after, let alone that she became their lieutenant.”

“Alright,” Reyna replies, slowly. “That does make sense, and your explanation seems to be a nice concise summary. Thanks for telling me.” She shakes her head. “Well, it’s nice to have some tangible proof at least.”

At last, Jason gasps, one of mock horror, finally relaxing though Thalia - his  _ sister _ ,  _ his _ sister - sits in the same room. “Would I ever lie to you?”

Reyna always maintains a perfect facade of seriousness, but the look in her eyes softens to a teasing glint. “Well, no, but I like to be a hundred and one per cent certain.”

Jason groans, finally taking a sip of his sparkling apple juice. “That’s not mathematically possible!”

Reyna lightly shoves him. “Sure it is.”

They fall into a lull, of sorts, as Jason actually starts to eat and drink, and by the time dessert has arrived - a chocolate mousse for them both - he has almost fooled himself into feeling completely relaxed.

That is, predictably, almost instantaneously undermined.

A tap on his shoulder. A gasp from Reyna. A spark of lightning.

Jason turns around.

“Hey,” Thalia says, with a crooked smile. “Mind if I sit here?”

His spoon falls.

_ Oh, shit. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> all comments, kudoses, etc., are seen and appreciated!


End file.
